Cyclone 01S hovered just off the west coast of India this past week slowly
drifting parallel to the coastline without coming ashore. It began as a
weak depression that formed on the 4th of May 2004 about 200 km east of the
southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea. The system strengthened
into a tropical storm the next day on the 5th with winds estimated at 35
knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 7th and 8th,
the stormed reached its peak intensity of just 45 knots (52 mph) before
weakening back into a depression on the 10th. The storm was responsible
for 5 deaths in India from heavy rains.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA)
at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global
tropics. The last image gives MPA rainfall totals for the period 3-11 May
2004 associated with the passage of the cyclone. The highest amounts on the
order of 300 mm (12 inches) fell over water (dark red areas). However, some coastal
areas in the state of Gujarat did receive up to 225 mm (9 inches) locally (red areas)
with several areas receiving between 75 and 150 mm (3 and 6 inches) (green areas).